Mental health, family and friendship, and the circus: all told in a raw, engaging voice.
When her parents insist on college, Harley runs away from home to join a circus.
Harley Milano grew up in her parents’ circus, watching rehearsals and performances and seeing all the work her parents put into managing and creating new acts. And she’s put in time herself, practicing as much as she can on the trapeze. She wants to perform, and she’s ready to be an apprentice, but her parents refuse to entertain her plans. Angry and heartbroken, Harley takes a chance opportunity to join a rival circus, betraying her family in the process. But she believes her dream is worth it, no matter how worried her best friend or her parents might be. Harley throws herself into proving her aerial talents, forging tenuous new friendships and grappling with her constantly shifting, intense emotions. Bowman (Summer Bird Blue, 2018, etc.) explores the costs and rewards of pursuing a dream while also incorporating discussion of mental health and its effects on relationships through generations. Harley is biracial, her mother being Chinese and Irish and her father Japanese and Italian, and she frequently reflects on the influence her mixed heritage has had on her identity. As Harley is torn between familial expectations and her own aspirations, this novel will appeal to those searching for their own places in the world.
Mental health, family and friendship, and the circus: all told in a raw, engaging voice. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3712-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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